Reassurance
by Eryniell
Summary: A short ficlet about Pippin feeling sad and useless. Takes place right after he has looked into the palantir during TTT.


Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Darn.

Setting: This takes place right after Pippin has looked into the palantír.

Reassurance

Pippin lay on his sleeping pallet, miserable. Little tears spilled down his cheeks and onto his pillow. His breath came in short gasps and he furiously tried to calm himself down, not wanting to seem like a coward. He was already too much of a nuisance for them to have to bother about comforting him.

_I should have heeded Elrond's words and never have come on this quest,_ he thought. _I can't do a thing and I feel more like baggage than anything. I'm of no use to anyone and now I've probably gotten them into more trouble with that… that palantír._

As he lay on the ground, twirling a piece of grass around in his fingers, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head around and saw Merry kneeling over him. Pippin gave a small smile and hurriedly rubbed the tears from his cheeks.

"Are you all right?" Merry asked, rubbing Pippin's shoulder.

"Yes, I suppose I will be," Pippin murmured, embarrassed at the tears that were still trickling down his face.

"It's not your fault, you know. That was an accident, you looking into that palantír thing," Merry comforted.

"It _was_ my fault!" Pippin insisted, sitting up and leaning against a nearby tree. "Gandalf said not to touch that thing and I did and now I've made a big mess of things. I'm such a fool."

"Don't worry about that silly palantír," the older hobbit said. "Strider and Gandalf'll make things all right again." He crawled over next to Pippin and rested against the tree trunk, putting his arm around his cousin.

"I know, it's just-" Pippin's words caught in his throat as he fought off the tears that were threatening to spill again. "I feel like no more than a piece of luggage. I should never have come on this trip and I have been a nuisance the whole time, and not a help to anybody."

"Now, come on, that's not true," Merry said with a little chuckle. He stuck his face in front of Pippin's and grinned. "You saved my life, remember? If you hadn't gotten free in that orc battle and cut me loose so we could get away, I would have been dead by now, probably. Right?"

Pippin nodded. "All right, that's _one_ thing that I've done, but nothing else I've done has been useful."

"Yes, it has," Merry responded. "You've kept me company. Without you I would have been dreadfully lonely and I would have worried about you. And you've always made the company smile. Remember when we were stuck up on Caradhras that one night, and it was so cold, and you started telling jokes and stories? Even Strider and Gandalf laughed. We would have been terribly miserable up there without you, Pip."

Pippin smiled, feeling reassured by the fact that at least _someone_ enjoyed his presence. He snuggled into the comforting embrace of his older cousin and slowly fell asleep, a happy grin on his fair face.

Merry held Pippin close and listened to the younger hobbit's even breathing as he slept. Gradually, he began to get a bit tired himself. Not wanting to wake his cousin now that he was asleep, Merry carefully put his foot on top of Pippin's pillow and pulled it over to him. He picked it up and placed it behind his head and leaned back, gently running his hand through Pippin's light brown, curly hair.

After awhile Aragorn and Gandalf returned to the camp. Seeing Pippin still asleep in Merry's arms, Gandalf walked over and bent down next to the two hobbits. "How is he?" he asked.

"He'll be fine. He just needed some reassuring, that's all," Merry quietly answered.

Gandalf nodded and reached back to grab Pippin's blanket off of his pallet. He carefully draped it over the two hobbits and said, "Get some rest. You deserve it."

END

So, did anyone like it? I thought it was cute.

And by the way, that was not intended at all to be a slash fic. That was just two cousins who have a very close, brother-like relationship.


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